Disposable storage container convertible to a bird-nesting box

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a storage container which is convertible into a bird nesting box, the container preferably having a snap-on lid or cover and being commonly available as a disposable receptacle for the packaging of consumable powders, granular materials or other food stuffs such as instant soft drinks, coffee, and the like. The container and the snap-on cover are provided with pre-stressed portions which can be readily removed, a measuring cup such as typically provided within such a container also having a pre-stressed portion thereof which can be removed to form a cylindrical sleeve-like member open at both ends. The measuring cup is further provided with spaced flanges or threads on the exterior surface thereof which can be fitted within the aperture formed on removal of the pre-stressed portion on the snap-on cover to hold the cup therein, the container forming a suitable nesting box on placement of the cover and cup assembly on the open end thereof. The handle of the measuring cup is further pivotable about its point of connection to the cup to provide a perch outside the entrance opening formed by the aforesaid aperture in the cover and the cylindrical cup.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 789,347 filedApr. 21, 1977 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,432.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Nesting boxes and houses for birds have previously been provided in theact. Such boxes have taken forms, most being of the square orrectangular box type. However, Moore in U.S. Pat. No. 1,987,347disclosed the use of a metallic cylinder having a removable frictiondisc or plug member engageable with an open end of the cylinder, themember having an aperture formable centrally therein to provide anentrance opening for birds nesting in the cylindrical enclosure. Theseprior bird boxes, including the Moore structure, could be fabricatedonly with some expenditure of money and time in obtaining the necessarymaterialsand forming said materials into the required shapes forassembly into a desired structure. Even when commonly availablematerials, such as milk cartons and the like, are cleverly convertedinto nesting houses, a substantial amount of time and talent is requiredto properly form such an enclosure into a desired conformation. Further,additional materials must always be procured to form necessarystructural features, such as a perch, of an acceptable nesting box.Further, cutting implements such as scissors, knives, saws, or the likemust usually be used to accomplish the fabrication techniques employedto produce the nesting boxes envisioned by the prior art. Thefabrication of these prior act nesting boxes have thus required somedegree of skill, the use of the tools or implements necessary tomanufacture such boxes being typically unsafe for utilization bychildren. The cost in time and money of these prior bird boxes have alsotended to limit the number of such boxes which bird-loving individualsand families could manage to build for deployment in yards andwoodlands.

The present invention provides a bird nesting box which can befabricated at minimal cost both in terms of financial and temporalexpenditure, the present box being formed according to the presentlydisclosed method from a disposable storage container such as is commonlyused in the marketing of food stuffs and other products. The use of thedisposable storage container as a bird box provides a further societalbenefit in that the container is put to a desirable purpose rather thanbeing discarded and thus aggravating the already overwhelming communitysolid waste disposal problem. The disclosure made herein includes anarticle of manufacture useable in the manner of a disposable storagecontainer for packaging of a product which is to be sold such as from adisplay shelf in a food store. The present article of manufactureparticularly finds utility in the packaging of powder or granularmaterials which are mixed with a liquid such as water to form abeverage. Presently available metal or composite containers of this typeare typically cylindrical and have a measuring cup provided in thecontainer for convenient preparation of the foodstuff. Such containersfurther have plastic snap-on covers which, on removal of an inner metalor composite sealing wall, serve as a replaceable lid to preventspillage and spoilage of the food stuff. According to the presentinvention, the container, the cover, and the measuring cup are providedwith pre-stressed, typically circular portions which can be "punchedout" to provide aperture or openings of a predetermined size, theopenings thus formed the container being typically of a diametersufficient to provide ventilation. A central opening is thereby formedin the cover to receive the cylindrical cup portion of the measuring cuptherein, the cup being locked in the opening by means of spaced snapflanges on screw threads formed on the external surface of the cup. Thebottom of the measuring cup is "punched out" to provide an entranceopening for a bird into the interior of the container. Further, thehandle of the measuring cup can be bent to provide a perch.

The bird nesting box formed according to the invention provides theadvantages and features typically desired of a nest housing, that is,the present box can be installed in trees, on posts, and even on thewalls of sheds, barns, or other structures. Further, the present nestingbox provides protection against predators as well as against theelements. Due to the exceptionally low cost of the present bird box andthe ease of fabrication thereof especially when an otherwise disposablestorage container is configured for conversion to said bird box asaforesaid, great numbers of the box can be economically fabricated andinstalled for the benefit of the birds and for the enjoyment andrecreational benefit of those who fabricate the boxes. Children canespecially benefit from the invention due to the ease of fabrication ofthe present bird box, dangerous tools and cutting implements not beingnecessary for conversion of the storage container to the finished birdbox. The present bird box can be fabricated largely by hand, a simplehand punch which can take the form of a pencil or dowel rod beingtypically useable to form the ventilation holes in the container. Thepresent bird box can therefore be economically and safely fabricated bychildren as well as by adults, the box being either built from acontainer which is predisposed to conversion or from a container such aswas available before the invention disclosed herein.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a nesting boxand a method of manufacturers thereof for use by birds which isinexpensive to fabricate and which can be fabricated from otherwisedisposable storage containers such as are used to package "instant"beverages and the like.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an otherwisedisposable storage container for packaging food stuffs such as "instant"beverages and the like which is preformed for ready conversion into abird nesting box at minimal cost and without the need for skillful useof tools or cutting implements, the conversion being readilyaccomplished by children or individuals who are not mechanicallyinclined.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of apparatus embodying the invention, theapparatus being shown partially cut-away;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of apparatus embodying the invention in anarrangement converted from the configuration of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a portion of theapparatus of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 in areconfigured mode;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a portion of theapparatus of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in areconfigured mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, theinvention is seen to comprise a storage container shown generally at 10in FIG. 1 and which is convertible by the method of the invention to abird nesting box such as is shown generally at 20 in FIG. 2. The storagecontainer 10 is preferably of a disposable type commonly used to holdpowders or granular materials during display prior to sale and duringuse of the contained material after sale. The storage container 10preferably comprises a cylindrical can 12 open at one end, the open endof the can 12 typically having an annular lip (not shown) formed aboutthe periphery thereof for facilitating the press fit of a plastic coveror lid 14 thereto. The can 12 has indentations or scorings 16 formed inselected locations on the closed end and on the cylindrical surfacethereof, the scorings 16 being disposed in a pattern such as about thecircumference of a circle. The scorings 16 weaken the material in whichsaid scorings are disposed such that the material circumscribed by thescorings 16 can be readily punched or otherwise removed from the can 12to form ventilation holes, such as the holes 22 in the bird nesting box20 of FIG. 2, when the material stored in the container 10 is removed.

The lid 14 has a plurality of indentations or scorings 18 formed on theplanar face thereof, a portion of the scorings 18 defining small circlesor other enclosed geometric figures which, when the materialcircumscribed thereby is removed, form ventilation holes, such as theventilation holes 24 in the lid 14 of the bird nesting box 20 of FIG. 2.The remainder of the scorings 18 define a relatively larger circle orother geometric figure which can be centrally located on the planar faceof the lid 14. When the material circumscribed by the larger circle ofscorings 18 is removed from the lid 14, an access opening 26 is formedin said lid, the opening 26 being useful as will be describedhereinafter.

The can 12 is cut-away for illustrative purposes only as seen in FIG. 1to show a material scoop 28 located within said can, the scoop 28 beingused in a conventional manner to measure quantities of the materialusually stored within the container 10. FIGS. 3,4 and FIGS. 5, 6 showalternative embodiments 40 and 50 of the scoop which could be used inthe practice of the invention. The scoop 28 is seen to be formed of acylindrical cup portion 30 which is open at one end thereof and closedat the other end thereof. The closed end of the cup portion 30 hasscorings 32 or other means formed therein which preferably circumscribevirtually the entire closed end of said cup portion, the scorings 32weakening the material of which the cup portion 30 is formed to allowthe material circumscribed by said scorings to be easily separated fromthe cup portion 30. The cup portion 30 is further seen to have a handlemember 34 attached thereto, preferably at the periphery of the open endof the cup portion 30. Although the handle member 34 can take formsother than that shown in FIG. 1 (as evidenced by the structures shown inFIGS. 3-6), the handle member 34 can be attached to or formed with thecup portion 30 as a laddle-like or dipper-like handle, the longitudinalaxis of the major portion of the handle member 34 extending from theopen end of the cup portion 30 in parallel relation to the longitudinalaxis of said cylindrical cup portion 30. The handle member 34 canpreferably recurve laterally at the distal end thereof to form a grip 36which facilitates use of the scoop 28.

The scoop 28 is further seen to have a pair of spaced parallel rings 38formed on the external surface of the cup portion 30, the rings 38 beingspaced apart a predetermined distance substantially equal to or slightlygreater than the thickness of the material forming the planar faceportion of the lid 14. The planes in which the rings 38 lie areeffectively perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylindricalcup portion 30.

When the material stored within the container 10 is removed, such as bybeing measured out through use of the scoop 28, the portions of thematerial forming the can 12, lid 14, and scoop 28 circumscribed by thescorings 16, 18 and 32 respectively are separated or otherwise removedto form openings, such as the ventilation holes 22 and 24 and the accessopening 26 in the lid 14. The cup portion 30 of the scoop 28 is thuscaused to take the form of a cylindrical tube open at both ends onremoval of the material circumscribed by the scorings 32. The accessopening 26 formed in the lid 14 is of a diameter which is substantiallyequal to or slightly greater than the external diameter of thecylindrical cup portion 30 of the scoop 28, the outer diameter of thespaced rings 38 being greater than the diameter of the access opening26. The end portion of the cylindrical cup portion 30 opposite thehandle member 34 is inserted into the access opening 26 in the lid 14 adistance sufficient to cause the lowermost of the rings 38 to snapthrough the opening 26, the lid 14 typically being formed of a flexibleplastic material which allows snap fitting of the ring 38 through saidopening 26. Thus, one each of the rings 38 are caused to lie on eitherplanar face of the lid 14, the cylindrical cup portion 30 being therebyheld in the access opening 26. The cup portion 30, which is now open atboth ends as aforesaid, allows communication of the interior of thecylindrical can 12 with ambient. The cup portion 30 can be rotated toposition the handle member 34 at a desired location, the handle member34 serving as a perch for a bird using the assembly 20 of FIG. 2 as abird nesting house. As seen in FIG. 2, the bird nesting box 20 iscomprised of structure converted from the storage container 10 of FIG.1, no additional structure or materials being necessary to structuralcompletion of the bird nesting box 20. The enclosed housing portion ofthe box 20 is seen to be comprised of the cylindrical can 12 and the lid14, the lid 14 removably snap-fitting onto the can 12 in a well-knownmanner. The scoop 28, with the material circumscribed by the scorings 32removed, forms a cylindrical entrance way open at both ends and having aperch comprised by the handle member 34 of the scoop 28. Ventilationholes 22 and 24 in the can 12 and the lid 14 respectively provide formaintenance of a desirable environment within the bird nesting box 20.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate alternate embodiments of the scoop 28, scoops 40and 50 being respectively shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and FIGS. 5,6. The scoop40 is formed similarly to the scoop 28, the scoop 40 comprising acylindrical cup portion 42 being open at one end and closed at the otherend. The closed end has scorings 44 defining a circle in the mannerdescribed relative to the scoop 28. The scoop 40 further has a handlemember 46 which, when disposed within the storage container 10 for useas a measuring implement, has its longitudinal axis disposedperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical cup portion42. The handle member 46 can be provided with a notch 48 at or near thejuncture thereof with the cup portion 42, the notch 48 facilitating thebending of the handle member 46 as shown in FIG. 4 to a position whereinthe longitudinal axis of the handle member 46 is parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the cylindrical cup portion 42, the handle member46 thereby serving as a perch when the modified scoop 40 of FIG. 4inserted into the access opening 26 of the lid 14 in manner identical tothat described relative to the scoop 28 in FIG. 2.

The scoop 50 of FIGS. 5 and 6 is also formed similarly to the scoop 28,the scoop 50 comprising a cylindrical cup portion 52 being open at oneend and closed at the other end. The closed end of the cup portion 52has scorings 54 defining a circle in the manner described relative tothe scoops 28 and 40. The scoop 50 further has a handle member 56 whichcan be serrated at 58 to allow at least a distal postion of the handlemember 56 to be bent outwardly in a manner similar to that describedrelative to the scoop 40. The handle member 46 of the scoop 40 differingprimarily from the handle member 56 of the scoop 50 by virtue of thefact that the handle member 46 is essentially a cylindrical solid whilethe handle member 56 is arcuate in cross-section with the proximal endportion being thicker laterally than the distal end portion, the member56 tapering from the proximal end thereof to the distal end. The scoop50 is seen to be partially cut-away in FIGS. 5 and 6, to illustrate (inFIG. 5) the scorings 54 prior to removal of the material circumscribedthereby and to illustrate (in FIG. 6) an opening 62 disposed in thescoop 50 when said material is removed from the once closed end of thecup portion 52. The scoop 50 is seen to differ from the scoops 28 and 40in that a spiraling pattern of threads 60 is formed on the externalsurface of the cylindrical cup portion 52, the raised threads 60 beingof an outer diameter greater than the diameter of the access opening 26of the lid 14 while the outer diameter of the cup portion 52 isessentially equal to or slightly less than the diameter of the accessopening 26. Thus, the scoop 50 of FIG. 6 can be secured within theaccess opening 26 by rotation of the threads 60 within said accessopening to "screw" the scoop 50 thereinto. Thus, it can be seen thatalternate forms of connection between the scoop and the lid 14 can beused to secure the scoop within the access opening 26 of the lid.

The materials from which the present structures can be formed vary. Thecan 12 can be formed of metal, various plastics, or other materialssuitable to withstand ordinary environmental effects. The lid 14preferably is comprised of a flexible plastic material such as iscommonly used in storage container of this type. The scorings 16, 18 and32 can be formed in a variety of known ways, the scorings being adaptedto leave the scored material in a condition whereby the intendedfunction of the structure can be performed prior to removal of thematerial circumscribed by the scorings. The scorings could take the formof continuous prestressed arcuate lines in a known manner. The scoops28, 40 and 50 can also be formed in a variety of shapes, the scoopspossibly being square in longitudinal cross-section and having spacedrings formed thereon which are received into a square access opening inthe lid 14 in a manner analogous to that described herein above. Thehandle members 34, 46 and 56 can also be formed in ways other than thosespecifically pointed out. The structure used for attachment of theopened scoop to the access opening is also susceptible to variation, thescoop possibly not having spaced rings or threads but being simplyfriction fit into the access opening. Alternatively, the rings 38 orthreads 60 need not be continuous about the cup portions of the scoopsin order to provide an attachment of the scoops within the accessopening 26. As a further alternative, the present storage container 10can be provided with a perch member which is insertable into the lid 14at a location about the periphery of the access opening 26, the perchmember preferably comprising a cylindrical bar-like solid having aproximal end portion which is fitted into a small opening in the lid 14,the opening being formable in the manner of the ventilation holes 24.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the practice of the present method andarticle of manufacture can vary considerably within the scope of theteachings hereby provided the invention to be limited therefore only bythe recitations of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. As an article of manufacture, a substantiallycylindrical storage container which typically holds a granular substanceand which is sealably closed at one end by means of a snap-fit lid,which lid has a substantially planar outer surface, the storagecontainer further comprising:a geometrical shape formed on the planarsurface of the lid, the perimeter of the geometrical shape beingpre-stressed thereabout to allow removal from the lid of the materialincluded within the perimeter of the geometrical shape to form an accessopening in the lid, the access opening having ridgeless perimetricsurfaces formed about the periphery thereof; and, a scoop memberdisposed within the interior of the container and having structuralportions adaptable to use as a perch member, the scoop member having aclosed end and an open end, a geometrical shape being formed on theclosed end of the scoop member, the perimeter of the geometrical shapebeing pre-stressed thereabout to allow removal from the scoop member ofthe material included within the perimeter of the geometrical shape,thereby to form a longitudinal channel extending through the scoopmember.
 2. The storage container of claim 1 and further comprisinggeometrical shapes formed in the container and in the lid, each of theshapes including an area small relative to the first-mentioned shape,the perimeters of the second-mentioned shape being pre-stressedthereabout to allow removal from the container and the lid of thematerial included within the perimeters of said shapes, thereby to formventilation holes in the container and in the lid.
 3. The storagecontainer of claim 1 wherein the scoop member has ridges formed on theexterior surface thereof, an axial section taken through the scoopmember being substantially identical to the dimensions of thefirst-mentioned geometrical shape, the ridges on the scoop member beingdisposable contiguously to the ridgeless perimetric surfaces of theperiphery of the access opening on removal of the material of the lidincluded by the first-mentioned geometrical shape to secure the scoopmember within the access opening in the lid.
 4. The storage container ofclaim 3 wherein the ridges comprise spaced parallel rings, the planes ofthe rings being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe scoop member.
 5. The storage container of claim 3 wherein the ridgescomprise threads.
 6. The storage container of claim 1 wherein an axialsection taken through the scoop member is substantially identical to thedimensions of the first-mentioned geometrical shape.
 7. The storagecontainer of claim 6 wherein the first-mentioned geometrical shape takesthe form of a circle, the circle being disposed centrally on the lid. 8.The storage container of claim 1 wherein the structural portions of thescoop member comprise an elongated, rod-like handle member mounted tothe scoop member at one end of said handle member, the longitudinal axisof the handle member being disposable perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis of the scoop member to be useful as a scoop and beingdisposable in parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of thelongitudinal channel to be useful as a perch member.